New Lost Wax Casting Project - Tips Needed!

[WAE]

ello All,

I am starting a new project - a Fairbanks Morse centrifugal sewage pump. I am going to cast the volute and other components in bronze. So far, I have made a hollow wax model from my master pattern (also in wax). I made a mold in RTV silicon in case of any disaster, or if I want to make more :-\ I know how we all like pictures, so I have documented much of the work so far.

I have never done this before, so I need some advice - just bought myself some used lost wax stuff such as a burnout oven and wax injector. I plan on investing my model soon but I am hesitant because I am not sure where to place the wax sprues such that the metal doesn't freeze up or not fill completely. Do I have to cast this under vacuum to make it fill completely?

Though I can inject another model, I would rather not because I had to spend some time tweaking it!

Thanks!

Bill

 

[Loose nut]

There are specialized books that you can buy on how to do small scale lost wax casting but if you google it there is a ton of free info on the web.

"Lost Wax Casting" by Wilburt Feinberg is one of the best. It shows how it set up a foundry in the middle of nowhere with available materials.

"handbook of Investment casting" by James E. Sopcak (how to make and use the necessary equipment) and "Lost Wax Casting" A MAP publication are both very good books on small scale use (jewelery making but it's all the same) but may be hard to find.

You can check Lindsey books online the should have many books on the subject.